Process of curing meat.



C. B. TRESCOTT. PROCESS OF CURING MEAT. APPLICATION FILED NOV.5,1917.

1 ,27 1,962. Patefited July 9, 1918.

messe mess s? 0F eiseee emesrnoorissor comm; Meal.

Specificatioii of Lettrslatent.

Patented July 9, 1918.

ene ee ieefil -Farm 5, 21 al 1- W895- To all whom it may concern:

130' it known that LCnannns B. Tnnscor'r, citizen of he United seemesid ng a Chicago, in the countygf'gook and'. State of Illinois, have invented a new and useful Tm m ement n me s O Cu mg' Meat; r which the following is a specification My Present invhtipn is in' he at re of an a-f rem n 0a he pad-ass io in my Patent o. 1,134,2Q9,!dated April $3519.15, of ei a by fi st pickl it in br ne t9 i pre'g a 6 01 3 #17 ll 't i 'Q'f i s kn ss with s l an ntim ins' he curing ae ie j of'the salt by "disseminating it"threnghont the remainder of the tliicknesswhiledm pregnating" the meat with carbonic acid gas. e r' mary' bje tt ined y h ea ted P d re if lth of at i m ld u if rm 1 133 5 enabling the ampere t e v 't on charg of 's l f n he Par al th c ess e t e tha t be Qm 'Qd fid-by dissemination thr'qugliout entire thick ness theree'f; Y j W h 'r esent Proc ss involve th s ame principle, but 'it is materially simplified, by wholly dispensing withthe'JHSe of carbbnie a i as an upp a ns it y pr i which attain the same-r$11lt asuperior manner," particularly in curing V certain meats} and more especially bacon in slabs, t ei g my impr vdiprece' s m ybe dvan:

c rned be aiididiee n aha me ts. H ing e ised "inr mprev msiit mere esp e y r s jld and i ifi ri i i fifie wi h s lte ec mesMessiaen te' eid pre y in e pli i e t"the fell win d i seriptio'n is c.0l fi1i 'jto"the' treatment pr bacon in slabs, with reference to th panying drawing, in which Figure 1 -isa bl-OliQIkYlQW in side elevation of acontaimr shown as a box or vat, in which la f. a en re piled and u der: going pickling; Fig. 2 is' broken viw showing, in longitudinal section, the rectan gular curing box into which the bacon is transferred from the pickling vat and in which it is undergoing pressure, and Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional View of the curing box with its contents as they appear in undergoing the salt-disseminating curing after the pressure has been removed and the hin ed box-lid has been lowered.

Sabs or sides 4 of bacon, to be treated, and which should be of substantially uniform dimensions, are piled flat'wise and leoselyfbut by preference, in an orderly manner and with'theslabs in each layer extending a h n e (to, h in th 11. layer, "in a box or vat '5, shown in Fig. l to be supported in raised position. This box, which water-tight and is best constructed of wood, may be of any desired shape, though the rectangular form illustrated is preferred, since it enables the orderly laying in it of the slabs. The brineor pickle, the liquidflevelof which is indicated at 6, may be of any desired strength and should be stronger'or weaker according to the thick ness of the meat. Thus, for thin slabs, vthe brine maybe 'of 45 to1510 degrees of gravity showing on a 'salometer, and I for heavier slabs it"may be SQ to sovdegrees. The slabs are-left in the pickle. until they have absorbecbth'e predetermined amount of salt, whenthesaltwill'have penetrated to a depth of about one-fourth to one-third of the thick ess 9 the meet .Tht' p n th i y plickled slabs are removed from the vat 5 and transferred, for self-curing, into alrectane la box 7, P e bly .P 'Q d With a hinged lid 8. In this box the slabs are piled in an or erly manner in'laye'rs filling the horizontal dimensions of the box, preferably with the pieces in each layer extending pan l th th e in h next. lay

As each layer is formed the meat is pressed by l lmliiit a wi h l m i v i a ltlrtvo t snugly'against the'walls of the box and conform to the shape of the latter, andwhen the box' i's'thu'sfi'lled to thedeslred height, w sk egree f Pr su i nife fm applied, but'only necessarily for about an hour, tothf body of meat, as through the medium a f ol lowerfplate tl on t e screw 10 of a screw-press 1 1, i'nwhich'the box. may be plei e 'f t ipurr s I i V i H Subjectingthemeat to pressure in the rectangular curing-box has the incidental adof forming it into a compactbody having straight sides, thereby preventing ragged or irregular edges on the pieces, which would have to be trimmed off with resultant waste. A very important purpose of the pressure, however, is to prevent pockets in different parts of the pile, which would aflord lodgment for accumulations of brine shed by the meat and enable salt from the brine in such pockets to permeate the meat in spots throughout the ile and render portions of the affected sla s excessively salty, thus defeating my primary purpose of efi'ecting a uniformly mild cure of each piece of the meat treated. When the pressure is relieved, by raising the follower 9, the brine shed from and squeezed out of the meat forms thereover a comparatively thin body 12 of brine of sufficient depth-to provide an efi'ective liquid seal against access to the meat of contaminating air. viding this seal the use of carbonic acid gas, according to my aforesaid patent, may be entirely dispensed with and the expense thereof and that of the installation and'maintenance of quite elaborate equipment required for its use thus avoided. However, any other suitable form of air-excluding seal may bep'rovided over the meat in the curing box and is intended to be included within my invention.

After freeing the box from the press, the lid 8 should be closed to enable the box to be handled without spilling brine out of it, as for placing it in a pile of such boxes which the curing is progressing by dissemi nation through each piece of the meat of the salt with which the pickle hasonly partially impregnated it. The desired uniformity of diffusion of the salt through all of the slabs in a curingbox for producing the desired mildness and uniformity ofcureis enhanced by the pressure, since it brings the slabs into close surface contact with each other, so that if there should be any excess of salt in slabs thuscontacting with others that are less salty, the latter will take up from the former suflicient'salt to equalize the distribution. j

The time required for the curing under the osmotic action of the salt on thepickled slabs varies with the thicknes of the meat. To thus pickle and cure. a side. of bacon weighing from 6 to 8 pounds requires about 20 days, and each additional two pounds increases the time by about four days.

I claim: j

l. Curing meat by first pickling it in brine to impregnate it with salt throughout a portion only of itsthickness, transferring the meat thus pickled into a curing box, subj ecting the contents of said box to pressure, providing a liquid seal of brine .over the By pro- 2. Curing meat by first pickling pieces" thereof in brine to impregnate each piece 7 withsalt throughout a portiononly of-its thickness, piling the pieces thus pickled into a curing b0X,S11bj ecting the contents of said box to compacting pressure, removing the pressure, andcontinuing the curing action of the salt throughout the remainder ofthe thickness of the meat'pieces in said pile.

3. Curing meat by first pickling pieces thereof in brine to impregnate each piece with salt throughout a portion only of its thickness, piling the pieces thus pickled into a curing box, subjecting the contents of said box to compacting pressure, removing the pressure and forming a liquid seal of brine from the meat over the pile'thereof, and continuing the curing action of the salt throughout the remainder of the thickness of the meat-pieces in said pile V 4. Curing bacon, corned beef and like meat by first pickling pieces thereof in brine to impregnate each piece with salt throughout a portion only of itsthickness, pilingthe pieces thus pickled in layers in a rectangular curing-box, subjecting the contents of said box to compacting ressure to conform the pile to the box-Wall and prevent waste, removing the pressure,and continuing the curing action of the salt throughout the remainder of the thickness of the layers to spread them, subjecting thepile'to compacting pressure,removing the pressure and forming 'a liquid seal of brine from the meat over. the pile thereof andcontinuing the curing action of the salt throughout the remainder of the thickness of the pieces in said pilei 4 V v CHARLES B. REsooTT} Copies of this patent may be obtained tor fi v'e cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Iatents,

Washington, D. 0. 

